Friday, 22 May 2015

This morning when I got up Mr.R was busy in the kitchen baking some tasty treats for Barley, our wonderful Lurcher.
We usually give homemade treats to Barley, but occasionally he gets a shop bought dog treat as well.
Mr.R likes to make treats for Barley because a lot of the shop bought one are full of bad ingredients, it's usually only me that buys pre-made dog treats; because I like spoiling him - despite knowing deep-down that shop bought treats are never as good as home-made.

When we visited the Quayside Sunday Market in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne a couple of weeks ago I'd purchased him a dog bone from one of the stalls.
The young lady working on the market stall said the treat, called Tugg Plus Dental Chew Bone, was from a company called Husse, and that it was made using all natural ingredients, made with chicken and green tea, and would be good for his teeth, so I thought I'd give it a try. Or rather, Barley would enjoy trying it.

I'd forgotten that I'd bought the Tugg Plus treat until this morning; it was Mr.R baking dog treats that reminded me, and as the treats were still in the oven and would be too hot for Barley to eat for quite a while, I opened up the dental chew bone.

I couldn't smell any particular aromas, but Barley was very interested in the bone, so I guess it must have smelt good to him.
Barley took the Tugg Plus Dental Chew Bone outside and eagerly began gnawing one end of it.
It didn't take long before small pieces of the bone were breaking off and Barley was scoffing them, in fact the bone only lasted about 5 minutes, which considering it cost a fiver, well, £4.95 to be exact, I had hoped it would last for a while.

Five pound for a five minute chew!
Oh well, Barley didn't seem to care that the chew bone didn't last for long at all, he seemed to enjoy the taste.
And as yet he hasn't pooped all over the place - too much information maybe, but he has a quite a sensitive stomach, and it's not unusual for dog treats to give him diarrhea. Hopefully as this dog chew bone is 'all natural' it won't have any nasty side effects.

As I said, Barley did enjoy chewing the chicken and green tea Tugg Plus Dental Chew Bone, but I doubt I'd buy it ever again - five quid for a five minute chew - it could develop into a very expensive habit. Hahaha!
Also having read the ingredients to copy them for this blog post, I wouldn't have bought this chew bone if I'd had my reading glasses with me at the market; despite it being marketed as 'all natural' there are still a couple of ingredients in it that I would prefer not to give to Barley.Has your dog tried the Tugg Plus Dental Chew Bone?Did they enjoy it?

Monday, 18 May 2015

We drank this bottle of Torre De Ferro DAO Reserva 2012 a couple of days ago, and very nice it was too.

I recently broke the last of our wine glasses, so we're using this charity-shop beer glass ;)

Mr.R bought this bottle of Torre De Ferro DAO Reserva 2012 from Lidl, it cost £4.99.
It's from DAO, Portugal.
It pours a rich dark red colour, with aromas of cherry and tobacco.
On the palate there's full-on fruitiness, blackberry, cherry, plum, and strawberry, I also tasted raisins, a touch of spice, and a soft hint of vanilla.
Fairly heavy on the tannins, but a very pleasant wine indeed, and excellent value at just a fiver - it tastes like a pricier wine.

From the label -This Torre de Ferro wine is produced using the Alfrocheiro, Tempranillo and Touriga Nacional grape varieties. It is matured for 6 months in oak barrels, which lends the wine its acidity, fresh taste and intensive colour. This wine can be stored for up to 3 years after purchase. Ton enjoy this wine at its best, decant before serving. Do you like Portuguese wine?Have you tried Torre De Ferro DAO Reserva 2012?Did you like it?

Friday, 15 May 2015

Last Sunday we finally went to Quayside Sunday Market in Newcastle.
I say finally, because we've been saying we'd go for several weeks, but the weather had always stopped us - rain and open-air markets are never a good idea.

So, last Sunday the weather forecast was good, well, it wasn't predicting hot and sunny, but it was supposed to be rain-free, which we considered a good thing for our outdoor plans.
As it turned out, Sunday morning, the sky was dull, cloudy, and full of rain, which began to fall as we set off in the car for Newcastle.

Bessie Surtees House. 'From the above window on Nov 18th 1772 Bessy Surtees descended and eloped with John Scott later created 1st Earl of Eldon and Lord Chancellor of England.

Thankfully by the time we arrived at the Quayside Market there was no rain, and we wasted no time in walking across the Tyne River, from where we'd parked right by the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, to start browsing the market stalls.

We were at the Quayside Sunday Market early, so it wasn't busy at all, in fact apart from Mr.R, me, Barley our Lurcher, and a friend of ours, there were only a few other people wandering along the stalls.

This was our first ever visit to the Quayside Sunday Market in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and our first visit to Newcastle itself, so we were interested to see what was there.

The market was a lot smaller than I'd imagined, but as I believe in quality not quantity, I hoped we'd still be able to buy some nice goodies.

Our friend purchased some sausages from the Geordie Banger stall, and so did we.
We all knew how tasty the sausages were because we'd bought some a few weeks ago at the Bishop Auckland Food Festival. We chose the Geordie Banger sausages that time, which are pork with leek and mushroom. Delicious!
Ah, that reminds me, I must write a blog post about that; I suppose I should have written about it before I wrote this blog post. Oh well, whatever!

Right, so back to sausages. Our friend bought a pack of the Venison, and the Geordie Banger sausages.
We wanted to try something other than the Geordie Banger flavour we'd bought last time, so Mr.R chose Venison, Broon Ale, and Black & White sausages.
We've since tried one of each of the sausages we bought, (the rest we put in the freezer), and although they were all nice, we both preferred the Black & White sausage, which is made using black pudding and white pepper.
But from all of the ones we've ever tasted, the Geordie Banger is most definitely our favourite.
And speaking of the Geordie Banager sausages, our friend just told us that they are now making a pulled-pork sausage - we'll definitely have to try that, it sounds good.

Apart from the sausages, they sell 3 packets for £10, we didn't buy much else apart from some cheese, a couple of tarts, and a dog treat.
I was hungry so I bought quite a few different cheeses. And I was cold; it may not have been raining, but it was very cold, so I didn't bother to ask any questions at the cheese stall, such as if they made all of the cheese they were selling themselves, or if they were just retailers, where the cheese came from etc.
The people working on the cheese stall were reasonably friendly, they offered us little samples of the cheese we were interested in, and even offered some to Barley - we tasted a couple, Barley politely declined.
Eventually we bought several different pieces of cheese - a cheese with charcoal; which is supposedly good for the digestion, a piece of Black Bomber from Snowdonia, a soft goats cheese, and a cheddar with chilli.
We have now tasted all of the cheese we bought, and they are all nice, the charcoal cheese in interesting; very rich and creamy but with a delicate flavour, the chilli cheddar we've had loads of times before, but it was probably my favourite of the four we purchased.

We also bought a couple of Pasteis de Natas, (Portuguese custard tart). They cost £1.50 each.
We ate them later in the evening with a cuppa.
They brought back good memories of our life in London, and of our travels in Portugal - obviously.
One of the places we used to live in London was known as 'Little Lisbon' because of its Portuguese population, and there were lots of Portuguese businesses, including several cafes. It was in one of these cafes that we'd enjoy a Pasteis de Natas with lovely bitter espresso.
The Pasteis de Natas we bought at Quayside Sunday Market were nice, but much too sweet for us. That's not a fault with the tarts, but more to do with us not eating much sugar, and we didn't eat them with an espresso, so the sweetness wasn't balanced by the bitter coffee. Still, they were a pleasant treat.

Lastly we bought a treat for the dog. Well, I bought a treat for him, Mr.R had wandered along the market stalls with our friend.
I'm not sure what Barley thinks of his treat, because I haven't remembered to give it to him yet. It's a good thing he doesn't know I bought it. Hehehe!
The dog treat is all natural, chicken and green tea bone shaped chew. Hopefully Barley will enjoy it, and I also hope it doesn't make him poop too much - he has a sensitive stomach. Too much information? Hahaha!

As the market nowhere near as big as any of us were expecting, it only took a few minutes to browse the stalls before we were ready to leave, but not wanting to return home just yet we had a brief wander away from the market stalls into the nearby streets.
As I said, the weather was dull, but we still shot a few photos, mainly of the buildings and the bridges that cross the Tyne River. I was so cold and hungry that I forgot to take any photos of the actual market, not that there was much worth photographing - hence this blog post lacking any typical market stall shots.

There was one other thing we wanted to buy, we even tried to buy - olives.
There was a stall selling various things, among which were green and black olives.
We asked the lady working on the stall for a pot of her lovely looking, large black olives. We were told to wait, to come back in 5 minutes.
Mad, but true. She obviously didn't want our money - so we walked off, olive-less - never to return.

Actually, it was the very unfriendly, and unprofessional manner of the lady working the Mediterranean food stall, that really emphasised the main difference between this market and every other market we've ever been to.
Apart from the Geordie Bangers stall, and the young lady working the pet stall (she gave Barley a tasty jerky treat) all of the stall holders were either rude, or completely indifferent to us and their other customers. There was none of the chit-chat and friendly encouragement for customers to stop, browse, and buy the goods for sale. Very weird.
We've never experienced that in any market, and we've visited loads, both in London, and all over the World.
Hey-Ho, it didn't spoil our morning, but when we go there again, we will only spend our money on sausages. Hehe!

The dog seemed to enjoy his market visit; he's always happy to be out-and-about, and I'm glad we finally got to visit Quayside Sunday Market, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, and we'll definitely return in the future to buy some more tasty sausages from the Geordie Bangers market stall.Have you been to the Quayside Sunday Market, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne?Have you tried any of the Geordie Bangers sausages?What do you think about the market - or the sausages?

Thursday, 14 May 2015

I love crisps!
They are the one 'food' that I always find hard to resist, which is why we don't have them in the house on a regular basis.
I mean, we do eat crisps, but not often. When we fancy crisps, and nibbling healthier alternatives such as nuts just isn't enough to satisfy our cravings, we buy a packet of crisps, eat them, and then that's that.
It's usually several months between each packet of crisps we buy - which is what I mean by we don't have them in the house regularly.
I believe that if you have crap in your kitchen, you'll eat crap. ;)

Anyway, a couple of days ago when we were out walking the dog, Mr.R said he fancied some crisps, so he popped into our local co-op and bought some crisps.
Actually, that's not completely accurate. It was me who said I had a craving for crisps.

Him, me, whatever! We both fancied some crisps, we bought some crisps, we ate some crisps.

Mr.R bought our favourite crisps from the co-op. They're not a branded product, they are the co-op's own range. And they are seriously tasty.
I'm talking about Truly Irresistible, The co-operative, Sea Salt and Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Flavour Crisps.
They are very crunchy, and they have a really strong flavour. Delicious!

Mr.R put some crisps in a bowl for me, I ate a few, but then something happened that has never happened to me before - I didn't want them.
So I put the crisps, minus the few I'd eaten, back into the crisp packet.
I felt strangely pleased with myself that I hadn't scoffed lots of crisps.
That feeling didn't last long though, because an hour or so later, my crisp craving returned. This time I didn't bother with a bowl for the crisps, I buttered a slice of bread and made a crisp sandwich. Hahaha!
Yep, a crisp sandwich. Yes, I am a child. And yes it was delicious. :o

From the packet -Made from specially selected potatoes and hand cooked on Tyrrells Court Farm in Hertfordshire. Specially selected potato varieties are harvested at the optimum time, sliced and then hand cooked in sunflower oil. The distinctive seasonings are then added in just the right quantities to provide the perfect flavour. Do you shop at the co-op?Have you tried Truly Irresistible, The co-operative, Sea Salt and Chardonnay Wine Vinegar Flavour Crisps?Nice aren't they?

Monday, 11 May 2015

I haven't written a wine review blog post for ages, I've had a little break from blogging and since I've been back I've written ranted about politics, the general election, the Conservative Party, and David Cameron - all of which is enough to drive me to drink.......

So, here's a wine review, hopefully it'll snap me out of the gloom I feel about the political system in Britain.
Right, wine, yes, we drank this bottle of red a couple of months ago.
It's another bargain from Lidl supermarket.

From the Lidl Magazine -The sunny vineyards of the Vaucluse in the south of France are perfectly placed to produce ripe, flavoursome red wines. This one is not too heavy and not too dry, with bright, plummy fruit - easy drinking on its own or with food. £4.99.
I usually enjoy Merlot, and this wine was a pleasant dry red with delicious fruity flavours of cherry and plum, gentle tannins, and a smooth finish. Definitely worth a fiver!Have you tried Cuvée des Princes Merlot, Vin de Pays de Vaucluse IGP, Rotwein 2012?What did you think of this wine?

I was determined not to write any more blog posts about the recent UK General Election, but I've been sitting here for most of today thinking about it all and I can't resist writing just one more post.

I watched Daily Politics on BBC2 today, so I'm blaming them; Jo Coburn and Andrew Neil, for filling my thoughts with politics once again.
They were saying how the Tory Party winning the general election came as a surprise to everyone, well, that they won with a majority - no more coalition.
But I wasn't surprised at all. Unfortunately.
I had an awful gut-wrenching feeling that David Cameron would be Prime Minister. Oh dear God! Just writing that sentence makes me feel seriously sick. The next 5 years are going to be dark, very very dark.
But I digress, slightly, as I wa saying I was not surprised by the Conservatives majority win - I just wish I'd have remembered to place a bet in the local bookies, at least then I'd have made a few quid.

Oops, wandering off topic - again.
Nope, no surprise to me that the Tory Party won the general election 2015, but being the contrary lady I am, I was surprised that despite the last 5 years under a Conservative government, oh alright, a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, that despite knowing how bad everything has been in Britain - people still voted Tory.

If it wasn't so soul depressingly sad, it'd be amusing.
I feel ashamed to be part of a country whose people (Tory voters) clearly don't give a toss about anyone but themselves. Well, they can't do, can they?
How can they (Tory voters) think that the party who are responsible for welfare cuts, increased university fees, and crippling austerity measures are the best choice? It's truly baffling.
And yes, it may be the Lib Dems who lied about scrapping university fees, and then changing their minds and tripled them - but it was the Conservatives who wrote that policy.

I think of David Cameron as the bastard love-child of Margaret Thatcher. You remember her don't you? Maggie Thatcher, the milk snatcher.
Yep, the Tory Party winning the 2015 general election is not something to celebrate, and no doubt that truth with be realised by the eejits who voted Tory - sooner rather than later, they will have to live with the consequences of their actions.

It wasn't just stealing milk from children that happened during a Tory government, the pit closures have completely wiped-out the North of England, but what does Westminster care, simple answer, they don't.

So, now we have David Cameron leading our country. And I'm sure those who voted for his party are over-the-moon. I hope they enjoy that feeling of euphoria, because it won't last for long.
It won't be long until Dave starts to wield his new powers with full-force, and tragic results. We will all suffer - Tory voters included.

No doubt the people who voted for the Conservative party in the general election think that things in Britain were bad before, they probably blame the previous Labour government, and also the Lib Dems.
I'm not quite sure how any of the problems we've got today are as a result of the last labour government, I mean Dave and his cronies have been in charge for the last 5 years, so surely they are the ones to blame for everything that's wrong in the UK.

If you thought the last 5 years were bad, with the Conservative, Liberal Democrat coalition government running the country for the next 5 years, I think you'd better brace yourself for this Tory government because it's all about to get much worse.

Now the Conservatives are in sole power of Britain, unshackled from their coalition with the Liberal Democrat Party, here are a few things that are, or will be happening.......

Human Rights Act to be scrapped, thanks to Michael Gove and the Tories.

Civil liberties eroded, by the 'snooper's charter'. Our rights to privacy will be meaningless.

David Cameron to repeal fox-hunting ban, so that his rich pals can once again take their dogs out and allow them to rip-apart innocent foxes, resulting in a slow agonising death.

AUSTERITY. More and more cuts to vital services for the most vulnerable of our people.

That's just a few things that the Tories have planned, probably the tip of the iceberg, and I dread to think what else they're plotting.

Fog. Grim. Bleak. The future for Britain under a Tory government.......

Even if I was a die-hard Tory, which I'm obviously not, I can honestly say I would not have voted for the Conservatives in this general election.
Why? Because before being a Tory, or whatever of the political parties I support, I am a human being.
I am a loving, caring human being, who truly cares about those who are in need of compassion and support.
I could never vote for a political party who obviously do not care at all for people in need.
David Cameron seems to be completely obsessed with paying-off 'our debts' as he likes to call it, although in fact it's not ours, it's his and his government, and austerity seems to be his favourite word.
What he doesn't bother to mention when he's banging-on about how he's managed through his austerity cuts to get 'our debt' under control, is that it's all lies. The Tories are borrowing more and more money, the debt in not paid-off. So, if he couldn't manage to pay-off the debt over the last 5 years, despite such strict austerity measures, how the hell does he think he can do it during his next term in Number 10?
Simple answer, he can't. He won't. People will be forced to survive on less and less, until, well, until they can't survive anymore. And then they'll be dead. But worry not, Tory voters, David Cameron will be fine, in fact he'll be more than fine - he's a multi-millionaire professional politician which means he's not touched by the grim realities of life like so many of us are.

Maybe instead of rambling on I should have just posted what Salma Yaqoob said to Iain Duncan Smith on austerity, on BBC Question Time in June 2014 -

''There are 13 million people in this country who are now below the poverty line, 1 million people in one of the richest countries in the World now face the indignity of relying on food banks....... these are very real issues and it's been done in the name of austerity and we've had this drive of people being called scroungers but actually half the people on benefits are pensioners....... and 60% of people claiming benefits are in work because the wages are not paying enough; and yet I'm sitting next to Iain Duncan Smith who quite happily labels the poor people as 'scroungers' when you claim £39 just for a breakfast like you can't afford your own breakfast, when you live on your wife's estate and have taken £1.5 million of tax payer's money, that's what I call scrounging, that's what I call shirking.''

Oh my! I still can't shake this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach, it's been there since the general election results were officially reported.
A majority Conservative government in Number 10 for the next 5 years. How utterly depressing.
It saddens me that there are so many people in Britain with no compassion, empathy, or thoughts about the vulnerable people in the UK. I am of course referring to those who voted Conservative.
They should be ashamed of themselves, but like our self-serving Prime Minister, David Cameron - I doubt they give a feck.

I am praying that for once in his political career David Cameron is telling the truth, when he says he won't stand for a third term.
I am inclined to believe him, but only because I think he's definitely telling lies about giving us a referendum on Europe.
I think David Cameron will pussy-foot around the EU referendum for the next 4 years or so, then just before his term his up, he'll stand-down as Prime Minister and leave Downing Street.
That way he won't be remembered in history as the Prime Minister who broke Britain by allowing us to leave Europe.
Maybe I should go to the bookies and put some money on that happening?

That's it!
I am definitely not going to be writing any more blog posts about politics, or the 2015 general election.
Well, not for a long while, I am going to focus on something far more palatable - red wine and real ale.
The blog posts I write on beer and wine are always well received, and I enjoy writing them because they involve drinking lots of beer and wine - obviously.
And with the Conservatives in Number 10 for the next 5 years I'm going to be drinking a lot lot more - assuming of course that I can still afford to.Conservative Party, 0%!Red wine and real ale, 100%!

Friday, 8 May 2015

The UK General Election is over, the Tory Party won with a majority of 331 seats, 51% of the votes.
Or more accurately, Rupert Murdoch performed brilliantly by winning this election.
And if you thought things in Britain were bad before the general election, I fear it's about to get a lot worse.

Unfortunately the result of the general election 2015 turned out to be exactly what I'd expected.
The right-wing media have done Dave proud, all of their negative press about Ed Miliband worked; he's out, and Cameron is in.

I actually wrote this blog post in my semi-asleep state last night in bed. I couldn't sleep, so I wrote a blog post about David Cameron, the Conservatives, winning the General Election 2015.
This was before the results had been announced, obviously. That's how sure I was that Dave would be the Prime Minister of Britain.
The blog post I wrote was, in my opinion, very good; it was witty, and short - just one paragraph; about 7 lines of text.
And yet when I woke-up this morning, having finally managed to fall asleep, I couldn't remember my blog post at all. Frustrating for me, and unfortunate for you dear reader if you are reading this longer than intended blog post.
Oh well, whatever!

The End is Nigh......

So, back to the result of the general election 2015.
I am saddened and disappointed by many things about this general election, one of which is the way Britain has adopted an American attitude to voting. It seems that instead of the electorate concentrating on the policies each of the political parties stands for, and deciding which party to vote for accordingly, they are more concerned with the party leaders. If they don't like the leader, they don't vote for the party.
Eeejits!
We should not be voting for a person because of their personality or good looks, or lack of either or both, we should vote for the party who most fits our ideas of how things should be governed.

Quite frankly I couldn't give a feck what their personality is like, I mean it's not important to me that I like the party leaders. Yes, it's good if I like them, but if not, so what - it's whether I agree with their policies that's important to me. As it should be with every voter.
It should be about the job they are doing, not whether they are considered good-looking, ugly, fat, thin, scruffy etc.

I am convinced that with David Cameron remaining in Number 10, and not as part of an unelected coalition this time, but as the Prime Minister alone, he will wreak havoc on Britain.
If you want proof, it's only been a matter of hours since Cameron won the general election, and there are three more people who have lost their jobs.

I am of course referring to the resignations of Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage, and Ed Miliband.

I know I've said it before, in the two blog posts I posed prior to this blog post, but I'll say it again - our whole political system is buggered, it needs a serious shake-up to sort it out.
But now that the Conservatives are in sole control of the sheep, I doubt it'll happen. I mean the current system suits them fine, more than fine- without it they wouldn't have won.

For example Nicola Sturgeon SNP, received 1.5 million votes, and gained 56 seats.
UKIP, received 4 million votes, and gained 1 seat.
As I have also said in previous blog posts I am not a UKIP supporter, and I'm not a mathematician either, but I don't have to be to work-out that that's ridiculous.
UKIP should quite clearly have more than 1 seat - a lot more.

I didn't stay up all night watching the general election news, mainly because I knew that David Cameron was set to remain in Downing Street, but I did spend quite a long time scrolling the #GE2015 tweets on twitter.
The general consensus is that we're fecked!
Yep, having a Conservative government for the next 5 years is not good news.
Obviously the Tory supporters were pretty quiet on twitter, well, they would be wouldn't they? They've won, they don't need to comment.
But the labour supporters comments were being tweeted about a hundred times faster than I could read them - and retweet them. I'm going to be very busy deleting all of my tweets, again, having recently deleted 11,000 of them, and taken what I intended to be a permanent break from twitter - it's bad for my health - gets me all riled-up, and is often way too negative.
But I couldn't resist taking a peek at twitter last night because I know it's the place to go online when I want to know what's going on, it's far more up-to-date than any other news outlets.

I must have read hundreds of tweets about the general election 2015, most of which were scarily true, some of which were funny, and others which were seriously sad.

There's one thing the tweets, as different as they were all worded, had in common - Britain is set for trouble.
Things are going to get worse. A lot lot worse. There is no silver lining.

Here's roughly what a lot of people were saying about the Conservatives winning this general election -

Now the Tory party are in Number 10 for the next 5 years, you'd better pray you're not poor, disabled, ill, or a pensioner.

Real result of this election - too many trees died for so little purpose.

Labour should have repeatedly shouted, “We are anti-austerity, unlike the Tories!''

I'm off to bed. Call me up in five years.

This election result is a victory for the establishment, whose intense media campaign has worked.
The number of people using food-banks, and the number of homeless people will increase dramatically, an no doubt so will the number of suicides by people who are so desperate and without hope.

For the next 5 years there will be lots more theft, and many more deaths.

The national debt will rapidly rise to an obscene level, as will the number of billionaires.

David Cameron obviously underestimated just how thick the British public were, until today, the look of shock on his face that he'd won outright says it all.

The general election 2015 was a shamocracy!

So, yep, that's it - it's all over.
What do you think we've got to look forward to?
I think they'll be more money wasted on Trident, more charities having to set-up food-banks, the NHS will continue be sold off, more people will become homeless, the bankers will become even more corrupt and rich, and it wouldn't surprise me in America phones Number 10 and demands we enter into another war somewhere, and benefits will be lowered to a disturbingly low rate.
Although I'm certain the biggest benefits claimants, by which I mean scroungers, will be perfectly fine. I am of course referring to the family who cost Britain the most money - the royal family. But that's a slightly different topic so I'll say no more.

Anyway, that's just a few things that instantly come to mind, I'm not sure I'm brave enough to think too deeply about it all just yet - I haven't had any wine yet today.

Seriously though, I dread to imagine what is going to happen now.
I am genuinely concerned for the poor, the vulnerable, and all of the people who will be seriously negatively affected by having David Cameron and the Tory party in power for the next 5 years.
Just writing that last sentence sent a shudder down my spine.
The end is not nigh - it's here!Feel free to express your thoughts in the comments.Are you pleased that David Cameron is to remain in Number 10?Do you think it's a good thing for Britain that the Conservatives will be running things for the next 5 years?

Thursday, 7 May 2015

Today's the day.
Voting for the General Election 2015 commenced this morning.

I don't think the local residents where I live have been particularly gripped by election fever, but it is usually very empty here, I mean there are never very many people wandering about, but today there are people everywhere - presumably coming and going from the polling station.

As much as I am interested in politics, this election hasn't got me gripped.

None of the political parties are saying much about their plans, and what they are saying is the usual crap they think we want to hear.

The main reason I'm not overly participating in this election is because I truly believe that our while voting system is archaic and completely unfair.

I know the UK had a referendum on proportional representation a while ago, but I missed it because I want in the country at that time.

I am saddened that the general public didn't vote for it, but from what I've read since I've been back in Blighty, it was deliberately made too complicated for people to know what to vote for. Typical dodgy political behaviour!

I think we should definitely have proportional representation in Britain.

I think the general election should be more about voting for the particular political party of your choice, and not about the party leaders. Who really cares if David Cameron is a complete muppet, or if Ed Miliband eats a bacon sarnie in a certain way, or if Nigel Farage is drunk, or Nicola Sturgeon looks like Sandy Toksvig?

It shouldn't be important, the media shouldn't bang-on and on about these things, they should stop focusing on character assassinations and concentrate on the important issues.

Come voting day, I think voters should be handed a piece of paper with all of the parties listed -

Conservative

Labour

Liberal Democrats

Green

UKIP

SNP

Blah, blah, blah...........

Voters should simply tick the box next to the political party they want in Number 10.

I don't think there needs to be anything else on the ballot papers, no names of the politicians etc. after all we are really voting for the political party we hope will win the general election - we're not really voting for our local MPs.
It shouldn't be about seats. The way it is now. It's just not a fair system that someone like say, Nigel Farage could possibly receive 15% of the votes but he would only get 1% of the seats in parliament.
How is that fair?
That is not to say I want Nigel Farage running anything in Britain, or that I wouldn't; it's not about my feelings towards Nigel Farage - I'm just using him to make my point.

They say we live in a democracy. But how is our current voting system democratic?
It isn't!
Britain is not a democracy.

Then once voting in the general election has closed, all the votes should be counted, and whichever political party has the most votes - wins. Simple! And not only would that be a much simpler way to carry out the general election, it would be fair too. The people of Britain would be governed by the political party who most people wanted - what's fairer than that?

Oh, how I wish things were as they should be. By which I obviously mean how I think they should be.

Maybe I should be in charge of Britain? Or am I sounding like a know-it-all? Hehe!

I just don't want to think about how ridiculously outdated and unfair the whole system is.

I have deliberately ignored all of the TV news today, and I haven't read anything political online about the general election. And I'm not in a rush to find out who wins either.

No doubt I'll find out some time tomorrow, as it'll be all over the news - obviously.

Right, that's it!

I hadn't intended to write another blog post about the general election - after my long rambling post that I wrote yesterday, but I couldn't resist.

But hey, at least this one is short, and to the point. Well, more to the point than yesterday's blog post anyway.
And I've uploaded another photo of our gorgeous boy, Barley the Lurcher, and he definitely has my vote.

Happy voting!

What do you think about our political system?Do you think it's outdated and unfair?Did you vote in the proportional representation referendum? Or, do you have anything you feel like sharing? If so leave me a comment. :)

Wednesday, 6 May 2015

Will we end up with an unelected coalition again, who will govern us for the next 5 years, despite the fact that not one single person in the United Kingdom chose them?

Will it be 'Goodbye Dave!' as Mr.Cameron is kicked out of Downing Street?

Or will there be a Labour SNP coalition, despite Ed Miliband saying he won't get into bed with Nicola Sturgeon?

Or will there be a miracle, and will the people of Great Britain finally have a government that cares about them, doesn't constantly tell them lies, cheat and abuse the system, and doesn't put other countries needs before our own? By which I mean a government lead by our lovely Lurcher, Barley.
I am serious!
Barley is a very clever boy, and I know he would make a much better leader than the muppet who is currently in Number 10.

Barley the Lurcher for Prime Minister of Britain!

But, if the miracle I am chanting for, Barley our Lurcher being the new Prime Minister, does not come to fruition, then I guess not much will change.
Not much will change, because as I'm certain we all realise, politicians just do not care about the electorate.
They truly only care about themselves. Well, maybe a few do care about us, but sadly the majority do not.
I'm not being deliberately negative, there is proof of how little the current Conservative government cares about its people.
It is because of them that the United Kingdom is in the mess it's in. Austerity is there favourite word, as long as it doesn't include them, or their family and friends.

It is because of the Tories that there are reportedly ONE MILLION people using food banks.
And if one million is the reported figure, it's probably actually double that number - at least. The right-wing news are not beyond fudging figures to make the Conservative Party look good.

Lately I've been wondering just how ignorant of the facts the general public are. I mean, does anyone honestly believe David Cameron when he claims that he's created a gazillion jobs? I know that's not the exact figure he quoted, but it may just as well have been, because it's all lies.
Anyone with a functioning brain cell knows that Dave manipulates the unemployment figures to suit whatever lies he wants to flog.

And what about when Dave says he's going to make further benefit cuts, 12 BILLION QUIDS worth of benefit cuts.
It's news like this that appeals to the ignorant, uneducated, or simply blinkered sheep, who read the Daily Mail and believe everything David Cameron tells them.
I find it difficult to understand how the sheep can believe a word that comes out of his mouth. Don't they know that 'benefit claimants' are not all unemployed, lazy, Jeremy Kyle fans, who sit around on their bums all day smoking joints, and drinking cans of Special Brew?
Sadly, they probably don't know that 50% of people who are claiming benefits are actually working, they are employed, they are hard-working people. But they have no choice but to claim benefits because they don't earn enough to support themselves and their families.
Why?
Well, one reason is because of the short term employment contracts, which basically allow the employer to abuse their staff with obscenely low wages, no benefits whatsoever, and no stability. How are people supposed to live under circumstances like that? How can they pay their mortgages, or rent, pay bills, buy food? Simply answer, they can't.
But what do the Tories care? They don't.
I'm sure they're only too happy that the 'peasants' are struggling, and in some cases dying. Yes, people have died because of the austerity measures the Conservative party implemented. People have felt so alone, and have struggled to survive living in poverty, that it all became too much for them and they committed suicide.
Less people, means less problems for our government. A few less is a good thing, but not too many too less, otherwise there would be no one paying tax, and then our politicians would be as broke as millions of people who are living in Britain are today.

What will the 7th of May 2015 bring? A new day, or more of the same?

I do wonder about the people of Blighty, I mean is it me or are we/they scarily stupid? How on earth did we/they put up with the evil non-elected government for the last 5 yrs? And why?
We should be more vocal about these issues. After all, the politicians work for us. Or at least they should, but in reality they work for themselves, and not very hard work at that. Many of them have second or third jobs, and not because they're struggling to make ends meet, but because they are coining in by charging obscene amounts of cash for the work outside of parliament.

I think our politicians should be full-time, only have the one - as a politician.
And there should be less of them.
We have 750 of them! That's ridiculous! You only have to tune into any filming inside parliament to see that most days there are only a handful of MP's in attendance.
Where are they all?
Well, there are probably quite a few stuffing their faces with cheap food and wine in the restaurant in the houses of parliament. And by cheap food, I don't mean it's cheap quality, I mean it's seriously subsidised, which is why they are more than happy to stuff themselves.
Food banks don't even register on their radar.

This blog post may sound like I am seriously against the Conservative Party, I'm not saying they haven't been successful because they have. They have been extremely successful, with the help of the right-wing media, in demonising everyone who claims benefits.
If I had £1 for every time I've read an online comment about how 'us taxpayers are fed-up paying for benefits scroungers... blah blah blah' I'd be a multi-millionaire - just like David Cameron and his work-shy cronies.
What the people who write such nonsensical comments don't seem to realise is that we are all taxpayers. Everything we buy is taxed. Tax isn't all about the seriously high amount of money that the government take from your wages. Every single time we make a purchase we are paying tax.
So it is unfathomable that the people who write those comments think of themselves as different to other people, for example people who may not be employed. Just because someone doesn't have a job and earn a wage, it doesn't mean they don't pay any tax. Of course they are not paying as much tax as someone who is working and receiving a regular income, but then they don't have as much money, so they couldn't pay more tax - even if they wanted to.

Roses are red, violets are blue... Who will you vote for, Tories, Labour, or other?

Oh bugger!
I spent most of this morning, all of this afternoon, and some of this evening, debating about whether I would write and publish this blog post.
I decided I was going to, and I wasn't going to - I'm contrary.
I decided I was going to write about today being the last day before the General Election 2015, and when I was out walking with Barley, you know our lovely Lurcher, and if we lived in an ideal World - the new Prime Minister of Britain, I wrote it in my head many times, and it was short, and to the point.
Yep, I said short and to the point, which is why I finally just sat down and started typing a few minutes ago.
But as is obvious, this blog post is not short, or to the point. I am frustrated with myself that it's so long, and rambling.
I honestly only intended to write a few sentences, and not bang-on about the failings of David Cameron and the Tory party. Thankfully I am too tired, and my eyes are too sore (hay-fever and dog allergy), to bother writing down all of Camerons failings, good god, there are so many, and that would take so long, it's be the next General Election before I finished.

As I am flitting about all over the place with this blog post, and not sticking to the point I initially intended to make, I will say one more thing before I leave you in peace dear reader - that is assuming (yes, I know it makes an arse...) that anyone is actually reading this.
Maybe David Cameron is reading? Or Ed Miliband? If you are, I am available to tell you where you went wrong, and/or where you can improve. Contact me by commenting!
Er, where was I? Oh yeah, one last point, my mind is whirring....... Yep, General Election 2015, yada, yada, yada........ Voting! Votes! It's all about votes, obviously, which is interesting, I mean you may well think I am going to vote for the Labour party tomorrow.
Well, who I vote for is my business and mine alone, or at least it would be - if I was voting.
No, I am not obeying Russell Brand and his 'don't vote' diatribe. Or has he changed his mind and said we should all vote? He has, hasn't he? I can't keep up with these fickle folk.
The reason I probably won't be voting in the General Election 2015 is because it is highly unlikely that I will be able to.
Why?
Because my polling card has yet to arrive. It is now almost 7pm on the evening before us 'Hoi Polloi' are allowed to vote, and there's no sign of it. Mr.R received his polling card in the mail yesterday morning.
So, yeah, basically, I am ranting on an on about politics, politicians, and the General Election 2015 and I won't be voting.
Hmm, I am so pleased, glad, over-the-moon that I am living in a democracy. Ha! Don't make me laugh, Britain is not a democracy, we do not live in a democratic society - so I guess that's why I won't be able to vote tomorrow.
I wonder how many other people won't have received their polling card in time to vote in the General Election 2015?

Right, that is it, honestly, I am all out of rants....... for now.
I have absolutely no intention of watching the General Election 2015.
During our last General Election I sat glued to the TV. But this time I'm planning to pretend it's not happening. I'm going to pretend all is right with the World, or with Britain anyway, I'll don some rose-tinted specs, play with Barley, and chant for all of the people who are going to be shafted even more by further austerity cuts if David Cameron remains in power.
How anyone can vote for David Cameron when he has clearly said he'll make more benefit cuts, but refused to say where exactly, let alone clearly, is seriously beyond my understanding. It's as though Tory voters are all masochists, they want things to be worse, presumably because they think it won't affect them - little knowing that Dave is more than happy to shaft everybody; the lazy work-shy benefit scroungers, the full-time employed, or those on short term contracts. Everyone is fair game to him and his pals.

Despite all this rambling, I know that as soon as I hit 'publish' I will think of a billion other things I wanted to say, and no doubt they'll be far more eloquent in my head than they would be in type.
Hey-ho, whatever, it doesn't really matter does it?

Ooh, I just remembered one more thing, I read today that 33% of politicians rent property.
I hope they're managing to survive, I hope they don't end up having to use the food banks.
FOOD BANKS! Oh my god! My grandparents are dead, but if they were still alive, they wouldn't believe Britain had sunk so low, FOOD BANKS! There shock would be completely understandable considering the UK is the sixth richest country in the World, or something like that - it depends what statistics you read.
But you get my point don't you? Britain is a seriously rich country, and yet we have food banks, and people are using them. It's all so very sad, and depressing.

Disclaimer: I don't get much sleep.Lack of a decent nights sleep seriously affects my brain. I rarely know what way is up, so I may even be writing this blog post in my sleep - well, that's my excuse for anything/everything that may offend you.

Here are some news articles you may find interesting - if you haven't already read them.

I know what I think will be the result of the 2015 General Election, but what are your thoughts?What would you like to see happen?Who are you voting for? Or haven't you received your polling card yet either?